Shree Kumar Maharjan, Ph.D. International Cooperation Studies

Shree Kumar Maharjan, 7 October 2015 It gives me great pleasure, honor and proud to be the first Prime Minister of Democratic Republic of Nepal. The country has recently entered into new phase of democratic revolution in its history after official endorsement as Democratic Republic Nepal by the Constitution Assembly (CA) on 20 September 2015. This is the biggest victory for the Nepalese living in Nepal and abroad as it’s the first time in Nepalese history that the Constitution is prepared by the people in democratic and inclusive manner. As you know, Nepal has 7 identified states in the constitution despite some political parties and groups especially in the Terai region, are not satisfied in demarcation of these states. They are, at the moment, demonstrating on the streets demanding for changes in the constitution. Being a Prime Minister, I would like to ensure that their valid demands will be reviewed and integrated in the constitution. Therefore, I would like to request all

by Shree Kumar Maharjan (published in Society of Urban Poor - SOUP Souvenir on the occasion of 25th Anniversary) Tourism has become the fastest service industry in the world. Japan is one of the frontline countries in the world with lots of famous tourism destinations. All kinds and forms of tourism destinations are existed in Japan with the combination of traditional and modern unique destinations and activities such as many temples, shrines and castles, interesting buildings, architectures, technologies, nature and cultures, islands, beaches and mountains. Hiroshima is one of such famous tourism destinations in Japan. There are many renowned tourism hotspots such as Itsukushima Shrine in Miyajima Island, Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, Atomic Bomb Dome, Hiroshima Peace Museum, Hiroshima Botanical Garden and other historical cities such as Onomichi, Tomonoura, Takehara, Kure and others are in the proximities in Seto Inland Sea. All these cities have unique traditional houses, shrines

Myanmar used to be the closed country with a limited connection to foreign investments and affairs couple of years before. But it has been moving comparatively faster in its development than other countries in Asia after being opened up to international communities and formation of new government. When I first visited this country couple of years before, I found the airport very small and similar to Nepal, but this time I am surprised to see the new constructions in the airport and some new flyovers in the Yangon city to minimize the traffic congestions. Likewise, the new changes in the Yangon Bus Services (YBS) and ongoing mega-constructions. Within a year, the Juncity city, a supermarket close to the downtown, has been completed and operationalized. When I visited the Nay Phi Taw, I was amazed to see the planned city like in Europe, very clean and well-managed. I was told that most of the government offices are based in this new Capital city, which is located at more or less at the